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What it is

Job protection and furlough rules during COVID-19

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 9 April 2020. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Government bill adopting complementary measures in the labor field to mitigate the effects derived from COVID-19 (originating from Royal Decree-Law 9/2020, of March 27).

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000011· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. Essential health and social care centers (hospitals, care homes, day centers, etc.), whether public or private, must keep operating and cannot process furlough procedures; authorities will take the needed measures, and non-compliance can be punished.
  2. Force majeure and economic, technical, organizational or production reasons that justify suspending contracts or cutting hours cannot be used to justify dismissals or contract terminations.
  3. To speed up unemployment benefit payments, the company files a collective application with the managing body within 5 days, with individualized data for each worker and workplace. Failing to send it is a serious offense.
  4. In cooperatives, if the General Assembly cannot meet virtually due to a lack of adequate means, the Governing Council may approve the total or partial suspension of its members' work and issue the corresponding certificate.
  5. The suspension of temporary contracts (including training, relief and replacement contracts) interrupts the count of their maximum duration, so the crisis does not reduce their effective time.
  6. Force majeure furlough plans cannot last longer than the state of alarm and its extensions, even if resolved by administrative silence. Companies providing false data face sanctions and must return wrongly paid benefits, and the managing body must report fraud signs to the Labor Inspectorate.

Who it affects

  • Workers affected by furlough plans or reduced hours: They collect unemployment benefits through a faster process and cannot be dismissed on those grounds.
  • Companies: They must file the collective benefits application within 5 days and risk sanctions for false data or unjustified requests.
  • Essential health and social care centers: They must keep operating and cannot process furlough plans.
  • Cooperatives: Their Governing Council can approve work suspensions if the Assembly cannot meet.
  • People on temporary contracts: Suspension time does not count toward the contract's maximum duration.

Words worth knowing

ERTE
Expediente de Regulación Temporal de Empleo: a procedure allowing a company to temporarily suspend contracts or reduce working hours.
Fuerza mayor
Force majeure: an extraordinary, unforeseeable event, such as a pandemic, that prevents the company from operating.
Prestación contributiva por desempleo
Contributory unemployment benefit: money paid to workers while they are legally unemployed.
Silencio administrativo
Administrative silence: when the administration does not answer in time and the law treats the request as decided, here positively.
Entidad gestora
Managing body: the public agency that administers and pays unemployment benefits.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced9 April 2020Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted14 April 2020The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments20 April 2020Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee17 September 2020A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate24 February 2021The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE24 March 2021It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 8 official steps on a timeline
Jun 2020Sept 2020Dec 202011. 9 April 2020: Presentación22. 14 April 2020: Comisión de Trabajo, Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones Publicación desde 14/04/2020 hasta 20/04/202033. 14 April 2020: Calificación44. 20 April 2020: Comisión de Trabajo, Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones Enmiendas desde 20/04/2020 hasta 17/09/202055. 17 September 2020: Comisión de Trabajo, Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones Informe desde 17/09/2020 hasta 16/02/202166. 16 February 2021: Comisión de Trabajo, Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 16/02/2021 hasta 24/02/202177. 24 February 2021: Senado desde 24/02/2021 hasta 24/03/202188. 24 March 2021: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 24/03/2021 hasta 05/05/2021

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

The same initiative in the other chamber:

Published in the BOE: Law 3/2021, of April 12, adopting complementary measures in the labor field to mitigate the effects derived from COVID-19.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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